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Updated: Aug 9, 2026
Transcutaneous Microcirculatory Imaging in Preterm Neonates
Published on: December 31, 2015
Systemic biomarkers of retinopathy of prematurity in preterm babies
Parrina Sehgal1, Subina Narang2, Deepak Chawla3
1Department of Ophthalmology, Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector32, Chandigarh, 160031, India.
Insights
Elevated serum IL-8 levels in preterm infants may indicate retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) requiring treatment. However, this biomarker alone is not sufficient for predicting treatable ROP development.
Area of Science:
- Neonatalogy
- Ophthalmology
- Immunology
Background:
- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a complex condition influenced by angiogenic and inflammatory factors.
- A subset of ROP progresses to a stage requiring medical intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if serum and urine levels of IL-6, IL-8, and VEGF at the initial ROP screening can predict the development of treatable ROP.
- To identify potential biomarkers for early detection of severe ROP.
Main Methods:
- A prospective observational study involving preterm infants screened for ROP.
- Blood and urine samples were collected during the initial ROP screening visit.
- Levels of IL-6, IL-8, and VEGF were measured using ELISA in infants who developed treatable ROP (Group A) versus those with regressed or no ROP (Group B).
Main Results:
- Infants who developed treatable ROP (Group A) showed significantly higher serum IL-8 levels compared to Group B (p < 0.05).
- Median serum IL-8 levels were 55.9 pg/ml in Group A and 27.0 pg/ml in Group B.
- The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve for serum IL-8 indicated suboptimal ability to discriminate between groups.
Conclusions:
- Significantly increased serum IL-8 levels were observed in infants who later required treatment for ROP.
- Serum IL-8 at the time of initial screening, while elevated in treatable ROP cases, did not prove to be a reliable predictor for the development of treatable ROP.
Purpose:
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) progression is an inter-play of various perinatal and neonatal angiogenic and inflammatory cytokines. A small subset of ROP progresses to ROP requiring treatment. The present study was conducted with the aim to determine whether levels of IL-6, IL-8 and VEGF in serum and urine at the time of first ROP screening visit could be a biomarker for the prediction of development of treatable ROP.
Method:
Prospective single-center observational study of preterm babies screened for ROP. Blood and urine samples were collected as a part of routine sampling at initial ROP screening visit and stored at -80 °C for further processing. The babies were followed up and grouped into 'Group A' comprising of 35 babies who developed treatable ROP and 'Group B' comprising of 36 babies with regressed ROP or no ROP. The evaluation of blood and urine samples was done for IL6, IL8 and VEGF by solid-phase sandwich RayBio® Human ELISA kit.
Results:
The median serum values for IL-6, IL-8 and VEGF in Group A and Group B were 5.8 pg/ml (IQR 1.5,128.5) and 8.7 pg/ml (IQR 1.5,30.5), 55.9 pg/ml (IQR 28.0, 392.9) and 27.0 pg/ml (IQR 20.5,444.9) and 26.6 pg/ml (IQR 6.3, 39.4) and 30.0 pg/ml (IQR9.2,70.3), respectively. Group A had significantly increased levels of IL-8 (p < 0.05). However, AUROC curve for serum IL-8 demonstrated suboptimal discriminating ability.
Conclusion:
Babies developing ROP requiring treatment had significantly increased levels of IL-8 in the serum at the time of initial screening. However, it could not serve as predictor for treatable ROP.
